Welcome to WMHS
by ObscureEnough
Summary: Buffy is hired as the new guidance counsellor at McKinley. Oh her first day, she learns just how interesting the school's Glee club is when some of the members come and meet with her. What did she get herself in to?


**Disclaimer:** Don't own or claim rights to Buffy or Glee

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><p>Buffy smiled as she set her 'Class Protector 1999' award on the shelf then frowned slightly as she prodded it gently. Ever since Sunday had stolen iand brokeni it, it had always drooped slightly, no matter how carefully Xander had fixed it. She was just glad they'd had the foresight to pack at least some things on the bus for a quick getaway. Well, as quick as that bus went.

Buffy then turned back to her desk, and inspected it. Cheery pencil holder with a good selection of ipens that work/i (let's see how long ithat/i lasts) in front of a clean blotter, small posy of flowers that Dawn had given her, in a vase that Willow had given her sat beside the hand-carved photo frame that Xander had made, and that contained a photo of the five of them that Giles had commissioned and given to her.

She eyed the ivast/i selection of pamphlets the previous Guidance Counsellor had amassed with a somewhat concerned eye, and wondered, all of a sudden, what she'd gotten herself into. She was a Slayer, and she was working a normal, nine-to-five job, at a ischool/i, advising ikids/i! Whose bright idea was it to even hire her? Did they know what she was like? She began to panic, and started when her phone began to chime. Puzzled, she picked it up, and began to read the messages that had just arrived. She smiled: her friends knew her maybe a bit too well: there were four messages with varying expressions of 'you can do it, you'll do just fine.'

She sat back and smiled. Then she began to tap her fingers. She looked around. She sighed, and fished out her magazine. Waiting was isuch/i a bore.

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><p>A girl walked in, perfect hair, perfect posture, perfect toothpaste smile, and (thank God) a hooter like she hadn't seen in a while; it's always good to see there was something imperfect about a person. "My name's Rachel Berry, and I just wanted to welcome you to the school. I also wanted to say that just because Ms Pillsbury has had to go on sabbatical because she had a nervous breakdown after a disastrous day which started with a baby's diaper falling out of a diaper bag onto her shoes, and ended with Jacob ben Israel throwing up ialli over her and thusly triggering her OCD to such an extent that she needed sedation and, well, her sabbatical, we don't consider you to be a place-holder, but see you as a valuable contributor to the health and well-being of the students of William McKinley High School." And another perfect toothpaste smile.

Buffy blinked. "Okay," she tried. Since that worked, she went on. "Well … thank you. It's nice to be welcomed, though I kind of thought the Principal was supposed to do that. Or maybe, you know, some of the staff?" she added with a slight smile. Wouldn't do to hurt a student's ego on her first day, especially not someone with Willow's lungs, and Spike's ego. Or maybe Cordelia's. "Was there something you needed?"

"No," Rachel beamed. "I just wanted to welcome you, and invite you to Glee Club any time you're free. We meet on Thursdays, after school."

Buffy smiled, even though it felt false. "Thanks," she chirped.

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><p>The boy walked in, and Buffy immediately classified him as a jock. Well, the letterman jacket he wore was kind of a give-away. As was the way he strutted into the room then slouched all over the chair. He either had a very high opinion of himself, or pretended to; the faux-hawk, the easy grace, the smirk as he ran his eyes over her body. Please!<p>

"So how can I help you today?" Buffy chirped.

He leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. "Maybe I can help you," he rumbled and smirked.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. (Thank you, Spike, for those lessons.) "Okay," she drawled, "apart from the fact that I'm faculty and you're a student, therefore anything you might be suggesting would be iway/i out of line, I've met guys like you before, and, can I say: lame much? Hooking up for multiple, brief encounters may seem like fun, but – trust me – it gets really old, really quickly. The way you're going, by the time you graduate from here you could have had to be treated numerous times for infections, had God knows how many close calls, and some dads can be really scary."

The way the boy paled when he mentioned close calls, it was obvious that very thing had already happened to him. She reached across to rest her hand on his. "Look, I know what it's like to feel invincible, like nothing's going to change, or break, or end, but they do. Life changes, and you can change. You can be someone if you just give yourself a chance. Uh…" She reached into her bag and pulled out a card. "This is the phone number for a friend of mine. He's a carpenter, and does really good work. I know that after school he kind of drifted a bit; he couldn't get into college, and didn't think he'd ever do anything other than minimum wage, but now he has his own company. Talk to him; he may even have some work for you if you ask."

The boy took the card with a faintly troubled look on his face, and read it. He nodded then stood to leave.

"Oh, God, where are my manners?" Buffy blushed slightly. "What was your name?"

The boy looked at her, looked at the card in his hand, then back to Buffy. "Noah," he said simply.

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><p>The boy swept into the office, sat gracefully down and crossed his legs before carefully stroking his bangs back a fraction. "Well, I don't know iwhyi I was told to come here," he huffed. "It's not like iI/i started the fight. I didn't even have anything to do with it other than happen to be standing there when those two Neanderthals decided to perform some kind of dominance ritual in the cafeteria."

Buffy struggled to contain her grin. "Hi, I'm Buffy," she greeted. "And you are?"

"Oh, Gaga, where are my manners?" the demanded of himself. He held out a perfectly manicured hand. "My name is Kurt Hummel, and I'm the token gay person of William McKinley High School."

Buffy did grin at that. "'Token gay person' huh?" she asked. "So how's that working out for you?"

"Horribly," Kurt returned quickly. "Between the dumpster tosses and the slushies, it's a wonder I still have a working wardrobe or skincare routine."

Buffy's smile froze. "Dumpster tosses?" she asked brittlely. "Slushies? Isn't that a frozen drink?"

Kurt eyed her warily. "Yes. They toss it at you – it's like being slapped in the face with an iceberg, plus the corn syrup gets in your eyes…"

Buffy's jaw worked as she attempted to calm down. She touched her flowers and the photo frame, reminding herself of her family, her touchstone. "You ever have any problems, you can come to me, you know. It is, after all, kind of my job," she added with a laugh. After a moment, she looked back at Kurt and smiled. "Back in high school, Larry was our gay guy. Of course, he was also the quarterback, so no one had a problem with it, at least not anywhere they thought he might hear them. He's dead now, though," she added softly.

"AIDS?" Kurt asked understandingly.

"Graduation," Buffy replied with a slight smile. "There was an explosion during our graduation ceremony, and he was one of the victims.

Kurt's eyes went round. "Oh," he murmured. "Oh, wow, I have no words…"

Buffy smiled sadly. "That's okay; it was… Actually, you don't need to know how long ago that was," she added, smirking.

Kurt gave a sly smile. "Well, it can't have been that long ago," he decided. "I'm surprised they let you in here as anything other than a student."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Right," she drawled. "Someone knows how to charm the birds," she added dryly. "Okay, you came, you saw, you got counselled. Now get out of here: I pronounce you fixed," she added with a gesture as if waving a wand.

Kurt laughed, and stood to leave. Just before he walked out, he turned back. "So it's really okay…"

"Anytime you need to talk," Buffy nodded. "And if you want the other side of it, my best friend is a lesbian; she figured it out during college."

Kurt gave a soft smile. "Thanks," he whispered.

* * *

><p>"So how was your day?" Willow asked as she served dinner.<p>

Buffy leaned over to snag a salad leaf. "Interesting," she offered finally. "There's certainly some … interesting kids at the school. Oh, I got officially greeted by one of the girls from the singing club," she added, grinning.

Dawn blinked, then turned back to her task of collecting the cutlery. "Really? I thought the Principal would do that."

"Oh, he did, too," Buffy nodded. "But Rachel was very … welcoming, and let me know that I wasn't considered a place holder just because the previous School Counsellor had a nervous breakdown."

"So she's like…" Xander frowned in thought.

Buffy considered for a minute then nodded. "Think Andrew, but female, and apparently a very good singer. Best in the school, the singing coach said."

"Ooh," Willow winced, "actual talent to go with the ego."

Buffy nodded and hummed in agreement. "But she seems nice enough. Oh, and, Xan, you might be getting a call from a kid about making something of his life after high school, and, Willow, you might be getting a call from the 'token gay kid,'" Buffy warned. "I thought they could do with talking to people who have been there, or are there, or something."

"Well, I wasn't gay in high school," Willow frowned thoughtfully. "And gay in college is a whole lot easier."

"No, but you're gay now, and maybe it'll help to have someone to talk to," Buffy shrugged. "Besides, the bullying sounds pretty bad, and I'm going to need some ideas about what to do."

"Bullying, huh?" Xander grunted, frowning.

"As a member of the faculty, you will have certain freedoms about what you can do," Giles offered, "but your Principal may get in your way."

Buffy nodded. "Well, at least he's not as bad as Snyder," she shrugged. "That would be just the pits," she decided.

"So … an interesting first day?" Giles smiled.

"Oh, yeah," Buffy grinned. "Don't think I really knew what I was letting myself in for, but I think it'll work out."


End file.
